A return to Normalcy

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2016)

One of the core concepts of human nature is our propensity to survive, most often through dire measures. Whatever way we manage to cheat death, or delay the inevitable, the drastic measures taken bring us towards a greater fear and significant contradiction. The film's presentation, although less cynical than his previous film Trainspotting, is equally grim in perspective as director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland tackle the subject of human survival, within the confines of an issue that rivals the controversies surrounding nuclear annihilation and global warming awareness. With biological warfare, 28 days Later paints a brutal and terrifying vision of a world that is merely a reflection of our own ignorance. After the outbreak of an infectious virus called "Rage", the population of London is crippled. In merely four weeks, the population has ceased, with very few people left, and the infected running rampant as they resort to the more primal aspects of human behavior, going further back to our own ancestors. The infected hide among the bodies of the dead, the shadows of abandoned buildings, and within the very darkness that the resourceful survivors will be hesitant to venture. With only four survivors, Jim (Murphy), an every man of the sorts, having just woken up from a coma, Selina (Hariss) a ruthless and determined survivor embodying a coldness to her drive, Frank (Gleeson) and Hannah (Burns) a father and Daughter dependent on each other, journey into the whole of Manchester. Their journey is in search of what a radio announcement called "The Answer to infection", when really it was a prime example of humanities resilience, and it's more prevalent and damaging ignorance when merely seeking survival above all else. After acquainting themselves with the resourceful, but morally questionable Major Henry (Eccleston), the survivors find themselves in conflict with a group of soldiers, who's own drive to survive not only decimates and destroys their conceptions of morality, but further poses the question as to what is normal, when really that is just a word, and based on a concept we invented. Now with regards to the reasons we took it upon ourselves to establish such a concept was no doubt a prejudice that further reflects our complete lack of knowledge in comparison to a Universe that is vastly more intelligent than we are. The human species has walked this Earth for about several hundred thousand years. There is no exact estimate, and people like the Geneticist Francis Collins, or the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins have their own approximations ranging from a hundred to two hundred and fifty thousand years since homo-sapiens emerged. Regardless of which one it is, be it more or less, out of the 4.6 billion years in which the Earth has existed, and the total 13 billion years since the Universe originated, human kind's emergence pales in comparison to such magnitude. If we were to suddenly up and vanish through some means of extinction, then that would be a merely be a return to what we call normalcy. This sort of philosophical speculation is expressed within the calm and quaint remarks of a rather wise and spiritual sergeant ( McQuarrie) within West's brutish and stagnantly ignorant unit of young soldiers. It is sad to know, but honest in such introspection within our existence. Whether it be it by divine authorship, or an accidental result of the big bang, we've only been here for a short time, and it's even harder to say how long that will last, or even if its normal to accept that it will most likely eventually end. Darwinian evolution by natural selection, although resilient in sexual selection and competitive amongst other organisms, is not always directional nor meant for adaptive evolution in matters as destructive and as incomprehensible as bio warfare. Even when a species such as ours is able to adapt to our surroundings, so do the very parasites that place us within the verge of a viral epidemic. Be it either the foot disease, the bubonic plague, or the passing of one organism to another. The sadness of it all is more conceived within our inability to determine the future outcome of when it will happen, rather than by what means. 28 Days Later envisions that potential outlook, be it within the desolated streets of London, the collapse of a societal infrastructure, and the chaotic/nihilistic portrayal of human destruction through desperation. Along with the lessons presented within the film, viewers obviously felt enthralled the by the horror aspect, mixed with the Apocalyptic vision of a world we are not very far from. Also the depiction of the infected was brilliant with them being more primal and ravage in their nature, then the typically dry and mindless monsters you get in a horror flick, thus exploring the notion of human nature, and how our more behavioral standards are a result of our evolution. An excellent amount of praise goes to the principal actors, Murphy, Harris, Gleeson, Burns, and Eccelston as they each exemplify the many forms of contradiction within the human animal, attempting to make sense of and rebuild a world that could easily become a reality, merely out of the very lack of understanding that characterizes human thinking when tackling higher playing fields of universal knowledge.